Gender, workplace preferences and firm performance: Looking through the glass door

Using Glassdoor data we show that women are less satisfied at work than men and that female employees care more about work-life balance. Further analysis shows that this gender difference in workplace preference vanishes at the manager level, suggesting that women who care less about work-life balance self-select into career paths that ultimately lead to management positions. Exploring the performance implications, we show that family-friendly workplaces with smaller gender gaps in work-life balance satisfaction are associated with better firm performance. Overall, our study implies that policies that aim to narrow the gender satisfaction gap can be socially and economically desirable.